Liberty first to earn playoff berth after beating Aces again

The New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu have gone from winning an Olympic gold medal in Paris to restarting their WNBA season with victories at Los Angeles and Las Vegas and clinching a playoff spot. All in less than a week.

The first-place Liberty beat the two-time defending champion Aces 79-67 on Saturday, moving them to 23-4 and making the playoffs with still a month left in the regular season. They’re the first team to clinch, and did so with their second win in Las Vegas this season.

“It’s just being excited to be back with our team,” Stewart said Saturday of how her energy level has stayed so high despite having so much packed into a short period. “We did our job. We won a gold medal and did something really special.

“This second half of the season is really important. And there’s no excuses. Nobody cares if we just came off the Olympics and have a game four days later and a nine-hour time zone change. When you think about it, it’s a little bit wild.”

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Ionescu had a team-high 23 points, while Stewart had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Jonquel Jones also had a big game for the Liberty with 10 points, 17 rebounds and 7 assists.

A’ja Wilson had 24 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks for the Aces. She and Las Vegas teammates Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray also were part of the United States’ gold medal team in Paris. But the Aces, in their first game since the Olympic break on Saturday, shot just 36.9% overall and 29% from 3-point range. The Aces are in fifth place in the WNBA standings at 16-9.

Liberty coach Sandy Brondello has made the same journey as Stewart and Ionescu; she guided Australia to the bronze medal in Paris last Sunday before the Americans won gold against France. The Liberty won 103-68 Thursday at Los Angeles in their first game back.

“I think the three of us are all still experiencing some jet lag or tiredness,” Stewart said. “But just making sure we set the tone. Our teammates have really worked hard while we’ve been gone, and we have bigger things to do.”

Brondello, who coached Phoenix to the WNBA title in 2014, is hoping to lead New York to its first WNBA championship this year. But the veteran coach is staying even keel. She knows there is another level the Liberty can reach, especially when starting guard/forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who is recovering from knee surgery, returns to the Liberty.

“I’ve been in these situations a lot,” Brondello said. “[My teams] haven’t always clinched this early in the season; we’ve had to grind it out. I’ve had great teams over the years, and they’ve always bought in. That makes my job and my coaching staff’s job much easier.

“But the job’s not done. We’ll be locked in. I don’t get too high or too low. So we’re happy, but there’s still areas we can continue to get better in. We’re excited to continue to develop.”